52 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXV. 



EXCURSION TO STONY POINT, WESTERN PORT. 



The Easter excursion, originally fixed for Cowes, on Phillip 

 Island, was changed to Stony Point, another locality in Western 

 Port Bay, on account of its easier accessibility, and for its prox- 

 imity to a fairly sheltered inlet, where it was thought a good 

 variety of marine life would be found. Stony Point, 45 miles 

 from town, was reached before noon on Good Friday, and our 

 little party of six were soon found making themselves at home 

 in Mrs. Osterlund's cottage, near the railway station, where we 

 had arranged for temporary residence. From Mr. Osterlund we 

 had hired a motor-launch, and, after a hasty dinner, we lost no 

 time in boarding the launch and commencing our dredging opera- 

 tions. A little run of ten minutes or so brought us to our 

 starting point, and, dropping the dredge overboard, we drifted 

 down with the ebb-tide to Tortoise Head, and back again with 

 the flood, which occupied us till half-past six. We found our 

 skipper, Mr. Osterlund, a splendid man, strong as a lion, and, 

 having a good, useful knowledge of the bottom, he saved us a lot 

 of useless work, loss of time, and damage to the dredge, and we 

 returned to the pier with a good haul, well pleased with the 

 afternoon's work. 



Early to bed was the order, as we anticipated a long day's 

 work on the morrow, but we were doomed to disappointment, 

 for a south-east wind blew all day, raising a nasty "jobble" on 

 the water, and as the Field Naturalists viewed the scene with 

 fearful eyes, the dredging trip was postponed until next day. 

 The morning was spent in turning over the stones at low tide, 

 and many interesting forms of life were obtained. As the tide 

 rose too high to continue the search we went for a stroll near the 

 inlet which separates Stony and Sandy Points ; however, beyond 

 two species of estuarine shells and the Mangrove trees, with their 

 singular breathing tubes, which were new to some of us, there was 

 little of interest. A fine flock of the Flame-breasted Robin, 

 Petroeca phoenicia, evidently resting after their migratory flight 

 from Tasmania, was noted. 



Next morning broke beautifully fine, and we hurried over 

 breakfast, but we were again doomed to temporary disappoint- 

 ment : the tide was out, and the launch was stranded on the mud 

 flat. After waiting two hours for sufiicient water, at about eleven 

 o'clock we went on board, and were soon at work dredging with 

 the flood tide, which runs with considerable force past Stony 

 Point. We worked on till it was too dark to see our captures, 

 and returned to the pier thoroughly satisfied with the results. 



Monday morning found us again working the rocks at low tide 

 for a little while before leaving for town by the mid-day train. 



The importance of Western Port as a collecting ground for 

 marine life seems to be little understood bv tliose interested in 



